magneto

[david heath]

does anyone have one on there tractor? how do they work? what are the advantages?disadvantages having one? thanks david heath.

 

[Dunk]

The advantage is that you don't have to have a battery, or a starter, and can hand crank it anytime you want it to run.

 

[Dunk]

You can also have your magneto, and a genny, and a battery, and crank it, and charge your battery, and use it on your starter, and still have all of those benefits.

The magneto, don't need external voltage to "excite" it.

It stays excited, all you have to do is turn the magnets past the coils, like your lawn mower.

The coils need battery voltage to make a spark.

 

[Den N Ms]

Yup I have one on my "43" it came with one when it was new.It was changed to a distributor when a battery and starter was added some time in the 40s.I put a magneto back on it when I rebuilt the engine this fall.Engine has been rebuilt just 3 times in 65 years that I know of.Once in 1956,I helped Dad do it then,I rebuilt it once in 1968 and again in 2007.Aint no tellin how many hours is on that engine.You talk about start fast, it will start with one revolution of the crankshaft.

 

[John (TR)]

Were the starters removed with the mag installed?

 

[Dell (WA)]

John........ya gotta understand, the early WW2 2N, had the battery removed, all the lead was being made into bullets. It had NO genny or starter, all the copper wire was being made into bullet casings for the lead bullets. It had spike'd STEEL rims, all the rubber was being made into tank treads. Within about 6-8 months, lead, copper, and synthetic rubber shortages were deemed "essential" for producing food for soldiers. The few tractors that were still being produced, changed back.

Since hand crankin' an engine was a "safety issue", most N's were retro-fitted to have battery start. Some kept their magneto's, some changed to the barely adequate battery operated frontmount squarecan ignition coil system.

So YES to yer question, magneto'd engines can have and usually do have electric starters.

There is 'nuttin' wrong with magneto ignition, many light airplane engines are dual-magneto equipped .....Dell

 

[SmittyN]

I have a 2N with 12V battery, starter and Magneto. It seems to work okay, but it has been starting hard of late.

Question: How do you know when the magneto is getting bad?

Thanks!
SmittyN

 

[Dunk]

The only real experience I have with magnetos is when I was 3 or 4 years old following my Dad around, and his A/C tractor.

So what I am going to tell you could be as wrong as it is right.

Take it apart, and make sure that your magnets are clean and bright, rust can be an issue, if not clean and bright, sand them with some fine grit sandpaper until they are.

It works the same way as your lawnmower spark does (I think), so there may be an issue as to the gap setting between the coil and the magnet.

The way that I set my gap on my lawnmowers is to take a regular paper sack, if I can find one, and double it, and use it between the coil and the magnet for a gauge.

Heck it has always worked well for me on lawnmowers, and small engines.

I don't know about your magneto or the gap.